Classic
Shipwreck Songs, by Gary Cristall on the Canadian Encyclopedia blog; contains a
5-minute audio recording of Leadbelly

“When
Edith Wharton—then Edith Jones—was a little girl, her favorite game was called
“making up.” “Making up” involved pacing around with an open book and (before
she could read) inventing and then later half reading, half inventing stories
about real people, narratives that she would chant very loud and very fast. The
constant pacing and shouting were important parts of the game, which (according
to Wharton’s memoir,A Backward Glance)
had an enraptured, trance-like, slightly erotic aspect. Her parents spied on
her, and it made them nervous.”